I've been paying for SEO for 3 months with no results — how long does it actually take?

Look at these three things at month three: 1) Are total impressions in Search Console going up? 2) Has the number of direction and call clicks on your map profile increased? 3) Has the consultant listed the specific pages they worked on each month? If not, that "six months" talk is just hot air.

We run a moving company in Valencia. The first specialist we hired strung us along for 4 months saying "the algorithm is settling." When we had someone else audit the account, it turned out he hadn't even verified our Google Maps profile. We hired someone else; impressions moved by month two, and by month four we were booking 5-6 jobs a week.

no phone calls is normal but even without clicks, that blue impressions line in seaarch console shouldve been pointing up but i mean if the graph is completely flat the consultant might be doing literally nothing.

Unfortunately, "it takes at least six months" is widely used in the industry as a shield to collect retainers while doing zero work. Ask the consultant: "what technical tweaks did you make to the site this month, and what content did you publish?" If they can't point to concrete URLs, your 1350 Euro went down the drain.

Focus on your Google Maps profile. In local painting and renovation, the map pack brings leads way before the organic website does. Is your consultant uploading photos to your profile, or have they set up a review collection strategy? That's your real growth driver.

You mentioned a Search Console report, but I've never looked at that, and the consultant never gave me a login. Can we see that impressions graph ourselves? Where do we access it?

You have every right to request a monthly breakdown of effort and deliverables from your service provider. Rankings can't be guaranteed, but optimizations, internal links, and technical fixes must be reported transparently.

don't lose hope right away but don't take your hands off the wheel either. talk straight with the consultant: "We've paid 1350 Euro over 3 months, I need to at least see movement in keyword positions." His reaction will tell you whethher to keep working with him or not.

I partly agree, partly disagree. btw hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

That's all sorry if I went on too long.

Three different views emerged, they all complement each other. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

I completely agree. Hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Quick summary for newcomers: Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

I'm a small business, let me explain from my side. Ranking is the result search intent is the input. anyway look at intent first.

Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Noted, thanks. Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

correct.

I can't fully agree with this. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

Just leaving this note it might be useful.

The answer above hits the nail on the head. If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page, but the search result appearance.